| Danny Bonaduce |
Danny Bonaduce, June 2007 |
| Born |
Dante Daniel Bonaduce
August 13, 1959 (1959-08-13) (age 49)
Broomall, Pennsylvania,
United States |
| Occupation |
Actor, Radio Host, Wrestler |
| Years active |
1969 – present |
| Spouse(s) |
Setsuko Hattori (1985 - 1988)
Gretchen Hillmer (1990 - 2007) |
Dante Daniel Bonaduce (born August 13, 1959 in Broomall, Pennsylvania) is an American radio/television personality, comedian, professional wrestler, and former child actor who, as an adult, became known for his tumultuous personal life. The son of veteran TV writer/producer Joseph Bonaduce (The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mayberry RFD, One Day At A Time, Good Times), the naturally redheaded Bonaduce gained prominence as a child actor of the 1970s, co-starring as Danny Partridge, the wisecracking middle son of the singing pop band (headed by Shirley Jones), on the sitcom/television series The Partridge Family.
Bonaduce was part of The Adam Carolla Show in 2007, and in 2008 was given a daily one-hour solo spot known as Broadcasting Bonaduce which was broadcast locally on the L.A.-based KLSX station. As of February 20, 2009, Broadcasting Bonaduce was removed from the show's programming as KLSX changed its format from talk to Top 40. Since November 10, 2008, he has hosted the morning drive spot on WYSP in Philadelphia.
He frequently makes personal appearances in television, radio, and at public events. In April, Bonaduce stated he is a Republican[1], but didn't vote Republican in the election of 2008.
Personal Life
By his own account, Bonaduce grew up in a dysfunctional family, with physical and emotional abuse from his father.[2] He achieved early fame at the age of ten in the television series The Partridge Family, starring as Danny Partridge. Bonaduce's wisecracking Danny was a constant bane of the family's manager, played by Dave Madden. Bonaduce has said that he owes a lot to Madden, who took him into his home during his family's domestic strife. He also had a close relationship with co-star Shirley Jones. However, following the end of the series, Bonaduce's late teens and twenties saw drug abuse and a period of homelessness.
In 1985, Bonaduce married real estate agent Setsuko Hattori. They divorced in 1988. On November 4, 1990, Bonaduce met his second wife, Gretchen Hillmer, on a blind date and the two were married the same day. The actor has credited Gretchen with building up his diminished self-image, which had been assailed by both chemical abuse and an arrest for assaulting a male transvestite. On April 9, 2007, Gretchen filed a divorce petition, citing irreconcilable differences.[3] They have two children together, Isabella and Dante.
He is currently engaged to Amy Railsback; Railsback, who is 23 years Bonaduce's junior, was formerly a substitute school teacher but now manages Bonaduce's career full-time. They have been together since April 2007 and share homes in Hollywood and Philadelphia. Danny's neighbor is Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard.
Career
Acting
In the television series The Partridge Family, Bonaduce played the role of Danny Partridge, a member of the musical Partridge family, a band and family that toured the country in their oddly-painted old school bus. Danny Partridge played the bass guitar though in reality, Bonaduce was not a musician. Bonaduce's self-titled LP was released in 1973 by Lion Records, a subsidiary label of MGM Records. Bonaduce has admitted that his vocals can barely be heard on the album; most of the singing was provided by Bruce Roberts (singer).[4][5]
After a 1977 TV movie about a hijacked passenger plane, which featured Sonny Bono and Farrah Fawcett Majors, and an appearance in 1978's Corvette Summer, the young actor's career withered.
Bonaduce made a cameo appearance in a 1994 episode of Married... with Children along with Partridge Family costar Dave Madden; he has also guest-starred on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Season 7 Episodes 1 and 2 and the fourth season of The Drew Carey Show as the son of Shirley Jones' character.. Bonaduce has appeared as himself on the detective series Monk, and on the show Girlfriends. Bonaduce guest-starred with J. D. Roth (who he would later reunite with for Breaking Bonaduce) on an episode of Sex Wars.
Hosting and Presenting
But by the late 1980s, Bonaduce had become an on-air radio personality. In the early 1990s David Cassidy signed Bonaduce on as his opening act.
He hosted his own syndicated talk-show, The Danny Bonaduce Show in 1996. It was during this time that he brought together most of the cast of The Partridge Family for a reunion show on his own program, including last season regular Ricky Segall and the show's executive producer Bob Claver. Susan Dey was unable to attend, but called into the show and reminisced with Danny for a few minutes. David Cassidy was also absent as he was working on a new album at the time.
Bonaduce was co-host of The Other Half, a daytime talk show positioned as a complementary show to The View, on which he starred with Mario Lopez, Dick Clark, and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Jan Adams (who was later replaced by actor Dorian Gregory). The show aired from 2001 to 2003. During this time, he was also a Hollywood correspondent for the Australian morning show Today.
In 2007, Bonaduce was the host and judge of the show I Know My Kid's a Star, a reality show on VH1 featuring parents and children trying to break into show business. He also appeared as a judge on the Australian version My Kid's a Star.
Bonaduce frequently appears as a featured guest on television news programs. He has made several incendiary statements regarding left-wing or liberal celebrities; on Fox News, Bonaduce stated that Jane Fonda should have been shot for treason for her role in support of the Vietnamese authorities during the Vietnam War.[6] He also stated on MSNBC's Scarborough Country that "personally I think at this point if anyone had a rope thick enough, I think that Rosie should be strung up for treason", referring to Rosie O'Donnell.[7]
Bonaduce, admitting his own less-than-stellar track record, gets the last laugh as a commentator for TruTV's The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest.... On the show, he ripped off one of his own eyebrows on-screen.
Reality Television
Bonaduce starred in Breaking Bonaduce, a 2005 reality television show on VH1. One famous scene involved Bonaduce gulping down a bottle of vodka, and then racing across the highway on his scooter. In August 2006, he hosted the tabloid-themed game show named Starface, which aired on the Game Show Network.
Danny appeared in two episodes of Gene Simmons Family Jewels. In the first episode, Danny is helping Shannon Tweed determine if Gene could possibly beat a lie detector. In the second episode, he is in studio with Adam Carolla when Gene is hooked up to a lie detector. Danny asks several questions to Gene and then asks questions to Shannon when she eventually is hooked up to the machine.
When Bonaduce received an "award" from The Soup, he refused to read his speech, then kissed the host, Joel McHale. This was not scripted.
Altercation with Jonny Fairplay
On October 2, 2007, Bonaduce was in an altercation with infamous Survivor show participant Jonny Fairplay during the Fox Reality Awards[8]. Fairplay was on stage towards the end of the awards show and being booed by the audience, which seemed to perplex Fairplay. Bonaduce walked on stage and told Fairplay the audience reaction was "because they hate you", and then started walking off the stage without another word.
Fairplay called Bonaduce back and said something to him which the stage microphones did not pick up. Fairplay then leapt into Bonaduce's arms, straddled and repeatedly thrust his crotch into him, allegedly as a joke.
Bonaduce, who stated that Fairplay's hands near his throat made him uncomfortable, adjusted his balance and his grip on Fairplay and then threw him over his head. This caused Fairplay to hit the stage floor, face first.
Bonaduce later stated the two had met occasionally beforehand (and Bonaduce had previously indicated a dislike of Fairplay due to him lying about his grandmother's death on Survivor), but they had never actually fought before. While Bonaduce did not believe Fairplay was significantly hurt at the time, TMZ.com subsequently reported that Fairplay bled significantly, lost some teeth and suffered a broken toe. Fairplay may also have struggled with firefighters and/or medics trying to assist him.
Fairplay pressed charges and police opened a felony battery investigation with Bonaduce as the named suspect. On October 5, 2007, the L.A. district attorney's office concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bonaduce had committed battery because Fairplay had initiated the contact and Bonaduce had acted in self-defense.[9]
Boxing
As an adult, Bonaduce, who is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, boxed Donny Osmond in a charity event and later boxed former Brady, Barry Williams, in a separate event. Bonaduce won both contests, gaining a decision over Osmond and a TKO over Williams.[10] On June 11, 2007, Bonaduce boxed attorney Robert Shapiro for a charitable event.[11]
On Sept. 13th, 2008, Bonaduce dispatched "Reverend" Bob Levy with a TKO in the second 1 minute round of a planned 3 round fight. Prior to the event, Levy had slapped Bonaduce while visiting Bonaduce's dressing room[3]. A video of the moment does not clarify what circumstances led to the altercation, and Bonaduce, who has been noted for his temper, did not retaliate; however, the video does show him confronting the comic.
On January 24, 2009, Bonaduce boxed against José Canseco, who outweighs Bonaduce by 100 lbs and has a one foot height advantage.; the three-round fight ended in a majority draw[12][13]
Professional Wrestling
Danny was a key player in the series Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling. Bonaduce made his professional wrestling debut in a non-televised match at Spring Stampede in 1994 against Christopher Knight. Bonaduce had his second professional wrestling match at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's April pay-per-view event Lockdown against Eric Young, in which he lost.
Ashley Massaro, former WWE diva and winner of the 2005 Diva Search contest, was Bonaduce's personal trainer.
Writing
In 2002, Bonaduce released an autobiography, Random Acts of Badness. It has been heralded as a smart, well-written comedic tragedy and was a New York Times bestseller.[2]
In Popular Culture
Bonaduce is referenced in Taking Back Sunday's song 12 Days of Christmas, where they replace the lyrics "and a partridge in a pear tree" with the "and a danny bonaduce." They also have a short conversation talking about him.
References
External links
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Morning Drive Programs in Philadelphia |
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| Local Radio Programs |
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| National Radio Programs |
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